Chapter 154: Stirring Up Trouble
Two carriages slowly drove onto East Victory Street.
The carriages were exquisite, accompanied by servants in uniform attire. They clearly belonged to a wealthy family and were quite eye-catching amidst the bustling street market.
“Freshly baked sugar cakes, fragrant and sweet!”
“Top-quality silk, with a full range of patterns. Customers, please come in and take a look?”
East Victory Street had always been lively, with vendors’ calls rising and falling like waves. Shops lined the street, their signs and banners fluttering. Between the dazzling array of goods, people came and went, shoulder to shoulder, making it the most prosperous area in Xuande Ward.
Xue Sui turned her head slightly and said softly, “The sun is getting higher. Does Your Highness wish for some pastries…”
Before she could finish, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the carriage.
“Murder! Someone’s been murdered—”
The voice was piercingly sharp, instantly cutting through the noisy clamor of the marketplace.
Xue Sui’s heart leaped, and she quickly opened the curtain.
She saw that at the entrance of the silk shop, a sharp curved saber was being pulled from a passerby’s chest. Blood sprayed onto the silk shop’s banner, “Trade Connects the Four Seas,” a stark and jarring sight…
The assailant was dressed in the clothes of a Daliang citizen, but a closer look at his facial features suggested he was not from the Central Plains.
One passerby fell, and immediately after, more screams echoed.
The attackers were not a single person but a group.
They were frenzied and brutal, and as they killed, they shouted something in an unintelligible Xizi language…
Xue Sui’s heart tightened.
Could this be what Wen Jia spoke of? The death warriors sent by King Xizi Ashina to Shangjing with the intention of assassinating the Imperial Family and court officials?
“Xiao Zhao.” She said in a low voice.
“This servant is here.” Xiao Zhao’s eyes burned with intensity. “Shall we kill?”
“Protect the Princess Consort.” Xue Sui gave her a meaningful look.
The last time they encountered assassins on the way to the imperial palace, Xue Sui had fought them. Afterward, she had brushed it off by saying Xiao Zhao knew martial arts. Therefore, Xiao Zhao’s martial prowess was no longer a secret in Prince Duan’s Mansion.
“Understood.” Xiao Zhao’s eyes were sharp and focused, intently watching the commotion outside the carriage.
Several attackers, like wild beasts in a frenzy, killed anyone they saw.
Pedestrians fled in panic, some falling to the ground, others losing their families in the chaos. Screams, shouts, and cries mingled together…
The scene was utter chaos.
Third Miss Guo was so terrified her face had lost all color. She hid in Madam Luo’s embrace, trembling, her voice choked with sobs, almost unable to speak.
“Mother, the blood… so much blood…”
Madam Luo was also very frightened.
“Close your eyes, don’t look.”
She shielded her daughter with her hands and loudly called the coachman’s name.
“Hurry, drive away from here quickly…”
However, at this moment, the crowd on the street surged like a tide, in utter disarray. The carriage was blocked within it, unable to move.
Even more terrifyingly, the attackers spotted the two luxurious carriages in the crowd. Their eyes gleamed, and they yelled to their companions, brandishing their long sabers and leading the charge towards them…
In the other carriage, Xue Yuechen was also chilled to the bone.
Her lips were pale, and she clutched her handkerchief tightly.
“Has anyone reported this to the authorities?”
“Why are the Jingzhao Prefecture constables so slow? Are they just going to let these thugs commit murder openly on the street?”
“I’m afraid these are no ordinary thugs…” Xue Sui’s gaze was firm and cold. She slowly pulled Xue Yuechen’s head onto her shoulder, reached for the short blade she kept for self-defense, and stared intently at the curtain outside.
“Princess Consort, do not be afraid!”
The fleeing citizens obstructed the attackers’ path.
Blood splattered across the street, and pools of crimson blood were visible everywhere…
Xiao Zhao was becoming impatient, her eyebrows furrowed.
“Bold villains, you court death!”
She cursed loudly and made a move as if to rush out.
Just then, the sound of hurried hoofbeats echoed from the end of the long street.
A group of Eastern Palace guards thundered forward like lightning. They wore bright armor, their horses’ hooves pounding the ground, their arrival instantly drowning out all the noise from the market.
“Unauthorized personnel, disperse immediately!”
“Quickly disperse, don’t block the way!”
Among the crowd, the most striking figure was Li Zhao.
He wore a dark robe, a black jade belt cinched at his waist, his sword eyebrows and starry eyes, and a tall, upright posture. Disregarding his status as Crown Prince, he spurred his fine horse forward, and amidst the neighing of the steed, he charged into the chaotic crowd, his long sword flashing with a cold glint.
“Crown Prince…” Guo Yunrong, seeing Li Zhao appear, trembled as she lifted the carriage curtain. It was as if she saw a god descend. Nervous and shy, she unconsciously clutched the edge of the curtain.
“Your Highness, be careful! Be careful!”
Li Zhao did not respond.
His thin lips were pressed together, his expression stern, showing no sign of injury. His Qingfeng sword moved like a silver lightning bolt, weaving through the crowd, as if to tear apart this hellish madness.
The sounds of shouting and killing shook the heavens.
Facing the Eastern Palace guards, the few attackers gradually lost their advantage.
The common folk loved to watch a spectacle. With the arrival of reinforcements and the sight of Jingzhao Prefecture constables rushing to the scene, the fleeing crowd quickly gathered, making the street impassable.
The carriage was stuck in the crowd, unable to move an inch.
Amidst the chaos, Xue Sui suddenly spoke.
“Your right-hand back!”
Although Li Zhao did not turn his head, his reaction was swift.
As if responding to her reminder, he swung his sword backward and diagonally to the right, piercing the attacker’s chest with a clean, sharp, and imposing strike…
The attacker’s eyes widened in shock as he fell.
Guo Yunrong cried out in astonishment, her eyes full of admiration.
“Your Highness has such impressive skills.”
Li Zhao: “I want them alive!”
Before his voice faded, he heard Guan Ya’s anxious shout,
“It’s too late! They have poison in their mouths…”
The attacker, whose arm Guan Ya had just severed, sneered with a contorted face, and suddenly bit down on the poison sac in his mouth. A stream of black blood flowed from the corner of his lips, and in the blink of an eye, he fell stiffly to the ground…
He died on the street.
Li Zhao’s brow furrowed.
He had just returned from investigating the private salt trade by the river and was passing through East Victory Street…
Were these Xizi people going mad here simply to take advantage of the chaos to randomly kill a few citizens out of anger?
Li Zhao glanced at Xue Sui.
Across the chaotic crowd, their eyes met.
“Not good!” Li Zhao’s expression changed slightly.
Was the indiscriminate killing on the prosperous street a diversion to attract attention?
Not far from East Victory Street was a granary. It was an official granary established by the court to regulate the grain supply of the capital city. It stored a large amount of grain, vital to the livelihood of the capital’s citizens.
Li Zhao suddenly realized something and looked up sharply in the direction of Yongfeng Granary.
A thick plume of black smoke was rising from there—
He cast a cold glance at Xue Sui.
“Yu Qianshan, take men to Yongfeng Granary! Guan Ya, I’ll leave this place to you!”
Li Zhao gave the order decisively and then galloped away on his horse.
He left no words behind, but he took with him Third Miss Guo’s endless longing.
“Mother…”
Guo Yunrong gazed in the direction Li Zhao had departed, tightly gripping Madam Luo’s hand, her voice as faint as a mosquito’s. “If I could gain the Crown Prince’s favor, my daughter would have no regrets in this life.”
Madam Luo smiled at her, her eyes full of affection.
“You, you were still hesitant when Empress Xie summoned you to the palace that day?”
Guo Yunrong’s ear tips turned as red as blood, and she lowered her head slightly.
“I was momentarily foolish and believed Lu Xi and the others’ one-sided words, leading to a misunderstanding about the Crown Prince…”
She explained shyly, afraid her mother would laugh. She leaned forward, lifted a corner of the curtain, and poked her head out. Seeing Xue Sui’s furrowed brow, she asked with concern:
“Madam Ping’an, are you and the Princess Consort alright?”
Xue Sui turned back. “The Princess Consort and I are fine. I wonder if Madam Luo was frightened?”
Guo Yunrong replied, “We were both terrified, Mother and I…”
At this moment, a wind carrying the smell of scorching swept past. On the blood-red street, the crowd was still chaotic and disordered, but with the evacuation by the Jingzhao Prefecture constables, the road was gradually clearing.
“Shall we go to Pu Ji Temple quickly? It’s a good opportunity to pray for blessings and deliverance for those who died innocent lives…”
Xue Sui responded with a sound and lowered the carriage curtain.
Xue Yuechen, her face pale, asked, “Who exactly were those people? They had no grievances with us, why were they so brutal, killing anyone they saw?”
Xue Sui: “They weren’t killing for the sake of killing…”
Xue Yuechen frowned slightly. “Then what was it for?”
Xue Sui sighed. “To burn down the granary.”
She thought of Li Zhao’s cold glance just now.
Could he have thought that her investigation into the private salt trade was a cover for the Xizi people, with the goal of burning down the granary?
Although she hated certain people in the Daliang court, she would not do such a self-defeating thing.
—
Inside Xuanzheng Hall, Emperor Chong Zhao threw the memorial heavily onto the ground.
“Crown Prince, this is the excellent work you’ve done assisting the Ministry of Revenue!”
The memorials scattered across the floor.
They were all accusations against Li Zhao for disrupting people’s livelihoods, interfering with the grain transport, and acting arbitrarily. Even more so, they claimed he had abused his power at the grain transport dock, caused a massacre on East Victory Street, leading to great disorder in the city, widespread public anxiety, and boiling public resentment.
Emperor Chong Zhao said, “As the Crown Prince, the state’s heir, how many eyes are on you? How can you act so carelessly and invite criticism and gossip?”
Li Zhao’s wide sleeves brushed the floor, the dark python patterns reflecting the candlelight in the hall, making his eyes appear even colder and sharper than usual.
“Does Imperial Father truly believe this was my oversight?”
He picked up a memorial, his fingertips brushing over the words “Jiangzhou Grain Transport,” and then raised his head slightly, looking directly into Emperor Chong Zhao’s eyes.
“Your Son dares to speak frankly. This is a conspiracy by Xizi forces colluding with traitors in the court, attempting to disrupt Daliang’s foundation and shake the national foundation…”
Emperor Chong Zhao narrowed his eyes and let out a heavy snort.
“You mean… someone deliberately framed you?”
“More than that.” Li Zhao chuckled lightly and shook a blood-stained ledger from his sleeve.
“Three days ago, I received intelligence that the Xiao family had close dealings with the Jiangzhou prefect. This ledger was found in the residence of the escort official. It contains more than just the dealings of selling private salt.”
Emperor Chong Zhao’s pupils contracted slightly.
His face darkened as he flipped through the pages…
With each page turned, his brow furrowed tighter.
Prefectural salt taxes, private smuggling of iron ore, and even horse trading with the Xizi border—every matter was inextricably linked to the Xiao clan.
Li Zhao continued his report.
“Xiao Jing, who was exiled to Lingnan, appeared on a grain transport boat heading to Jiangzhou. Does Imperial Father think this is a coincidence, or does the Minister of Revenue Luo Huan have vested interests and must cover for him…”
“Good, very good!”
The Emperor, enraged, laughed instead, his knuckles rapping on the armrest with a dull thud. “Investigate this matter thoroughly. All involved, regardless of rank, will be severely punished!”
Xue Sui: Someone seems to have misunderstood something…
Li Zhao: Knowing there’s a misunderstanding, why haven’t you come to beg for forgiveness from this Palace?
